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There are trade demands, there are "trade me right now" demands, and then there are "trade me by this specific date" demands.
It appears Oliver Ekman-Larsson has chosen the latter, as multiple reporters have said his agent has given the Coyotes until Friday to make a deal.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson through his agent, Kevin Epp has imposed a Friday deadline for a trade to either Boston or Vancouver. “We think the best option for a trade is before free agency,” Epp told TSN. “If no deal by Friday, Oliver is staying in Arizona.”
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) October 6, 2020
I won't even paste in the "that's a bold strategy, Cotton" GIF because you can see it in your head.
It's an interesting tactic from Ekman-Larsson.
On the one hand, it puts pressure on the Coyotes, Bruins, and Canucks to get something done soon.
On the other hand, he also says it if it's not done, he'll just stay...which isn't the worst option for the team.
Yes, the Coyotes allegedly need to save money, but there are other ways of doing it if Ekman-Larsson stays put.
It may just be a tactic by his agent to force the Bruins and Canucks to improve their offers into something the Coyotes find palatable, just to get this across the finish line.
Sportsnet's Chris Johnston and Elliotte Friedman also had this to say yesterday:
The Coyotes like Boston’s prospects more than Vancouver’s, but, on the weekend, it seemed like the Canucks were the more motivated buyer, liking the idea of a long-time left side of Ekman-Larsson and Quinn Hughes. It is believed Arizona asked about Thatcher Demko, which would have been a non-starter.
Let the rumor mill churn!